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Question of the day: What role should technology play in the classroom?

Students use donated iPads at St. James Elementary School in Bay City

Marquaruis Pearson, left, and brother Rameer Pearson demonstrate how they use iPads at St. James Elementary School in Bay City. Marquaruis, 12, will be in sixth grade at All Saints Central Middle School in the fall and Rameer, 9, will be in fifth grade at St. James.
(Rob Clark | MLive.com fiel)

Administrators saved for three years to purchase the devices, apps and software for $22,000. Teachers will use the iPads to access student data in the classroom and to help students with their work outside of class.

The Bay City Public Schools Board of Education approved the purchase at its Monday, Aug. 12 meeting.

"This is a big thing for us," said Principal Amy Bailey.

MLive.com readers were divided on use and benefits of technology in the classroom. While some supported teachers using tablets, others say the devices are unnecessary luxuries.

I think the question that needs to be asked is whether or not this new technology in the classroom will improve the education that students get. I think that it's one of those things that looks great, but in practice the effectiveness of computers in the classroom I would imagine is dubious.

I don't think that educational value at this school or most any other well-funded public school would change even if you threw all the money in the world at them. The solution to improving education is more fundamental than "buy more iPads," but at the same time I realize that most public schools have to work within certain parameters set by politicians.

Maybe it's worth it, though. If it wasn't iPads it probably would have been those $12,000 per unit smart football helmets. Then again, even though I find football programs to be silly, at least smart helmets would actively benefit the student body, which is more than can be matter-of-factly said for the iPad purchase.

&lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/7319525/"&gt;Is new technology in schools worth the money?&lt;/a&gt;Commenter Mark Twain said technology now is the way of education.

If you doubt the practicality of purchasing tablets for students, then you're ignorant of the world we live in. The striking feature of this story is that the units were paid for through saving, rather than on credit. This is encouraging, because excessive borrowing and over extension is (partially) how this country has ended up in such sad shape.

Reader redwing196 said iPads are not worth the cost for struggling districts.

I am very aware of the capabilities of an Ipad. They are a luxury that the taxpayers should not be burdened with paying for when we have failing school systems.

The current model of education... the model we have used for a few hundred years... was designed for an era where educated workers sat in rows and tabulated, scribed, collated, translated and calculated by hand. Those skills are not as important as they were prior to the computer revolution. A new way of educating students is emerging and people like Mr. redwing are always going to be with us clinging desperately to the old ways. I don't pretend to know what the answer is but I know that continuing to to educate using pre-industrial teaching methods is not going to cut it.

What role should technology play in the classroom? Do tablets provide educational benefits and necessary skills for students?

Follow MLive and Bay City Times education reporter Lindsay Knake on twitter or contact her at 989-372-2498 or lknake@mlive.com.